Methinks that by nature dear Senior Citizen that you are well thought out and not impulsive, not the person who wears the lampshade at the party and probably has worked hard all of your life and saved carefully.
Well then, I would also say that that description is of most of us here. It is so hard NOT to be a cheerleader.
I did NOT want to retire to Florida. I liked Ohio just fine. I loved the house we designed ourself in a low crime area with fine medical and social amenities closeby, not to mention the greatest one, our daughter and grandchildren.
It was a last minute thought to stop at an old friends house in The Villages a year ago, we had flown to Orlando and planned to drive to Ft. Myers where some of my high school classmates were gathering to get away from chilly Ohio in January.
The first thing that struck me when we drove in The VIllages was the beauty of the place, the landscaping was lush and beautiful and the flowers were brilliant and artfully placed. There was no ugly architecture and the buildings other than the homes were soft and .......set a stage of elegance against a PRISTINE backdrop. NO paper on the ground. There was the cheerful look of people riding around in multicolor golf carts and folks out of their homes everywhere going somewhere. The recreation centers were beautifully done inside and each represented a different type of decor. From Colony Cottage's Victorian profusion, Laurel Manors Antibellum spectacular, Lake Miona's magnificent Naval decor, Odells African intensity, Even Bogie himself standing inside...........(can't remember which rec center...Bacall?)
Then there were the choices of restaurants where the food was good and the prices were....................cheap to cut to the chase.
The houses were on iddybiddy lots though and most of them looked alike. I was drawn to the ones in the new sections because no outdoor statues are allowed. (Some people kinda overdue that, but that is MY opinion) I didn't like the closeness to each other and they all looked so small.
However, once inside they were quite spacious and once you got used to the lots being close together, you recognized that the lawns weren't going to be a full time retirement occupation.
Well the people were unlike any group I have ever met. We are all "of an age" to be sure, but that age taught manners and rules and ....yet there were so many smiles, the body language showed.........happiness and purpose. People were friendly and before you knew it, they were telling you how they got here and why they liked it. They all couldn't have been hired by the developers could they....? Had they all been....... Stepforded? Strange. Very strange.
My husband was checking out the eight championship courses and the 27 executive courses and I was really reading the courses available at the Lifelong Learning College...........and the clubs? One even called "The Village Idiots" who go to breakfast in their pajamas? We saw Red Hat ladies dining and everyone playing Pickleball, Bocce and shuffleboard. The pools were lovely and there were two to each village. One for grownups over 30 only and one for kids.
I could go on and on.
I didn't like some of the driving. I was unsure of the traffic circles. I was astonished to see so many.................old people.lol I don't feel old at all although I was born in 1939.
I thought that people from the east coast talked funny. I was a little taken aback about so much hugging on greeting and leaving groups that I observed. I was afraid I would run into a snake or an alligator................
I am having a hard time telling you what I didn't like. This place is not to be believed and it is so hard to describe.
Please come on down and see. We have fewer years ahead of us than those behind and we don't want to waste them..
Sorry. I just couldn't help being a cheerleader.
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